System Builder Marathon, Q1 2013: $1000 Performance PC

[realibrad]

I don't see why Tom's cant build a computer that makes everyone happy. Next build should look like this....

AMD FX cpu, and I7 Intel cpu
14 7970s and 12 680s
Every motherboard ever
32gb of ram + 87gb of ram, 1 set running at .00000076 volts to protect the cpu, and the other at 1.98v
600GB ssd, and 600 HD in raid 0

Then, chuck the damn thing out the window, and clock the speed at which it falls. Then, drop a golf ball and see which one falls faster.

I see the golf ball haveing the better Price/Performance

 

[shadowhammer]

I don't think you have to sacrifice an HDD to keep an SSD.
Right now on Newegg you could put the following system together for $991.
CPU: i5-3580k ($230)
Graphics: Gigabyte HD 7870 Ghz Edition ($230)
Motherboard: ASRock Extreme 4 ($125)
Memory: Kingston Hyper-X 8Gb (2x4Gb) ($43)
SSD: OCZ Vertex IV ($110)
HDD: Seagate 1TB 7200RPM ($80)
DVD: Lite-On ($18)
Case: Coolermaster Elite 430 ($50)
Power: Corsair Builder 600watt ($70)
Cooling: Coolermaster Hyper 212 EVO ($35)

I understand that prices do fluctuate but I think the SSD should still be for the system as Gamers need plenty of storage for all the games and it can be done for under $1000 including an SSD.

 

[balister]

[citation][nom]Crashman[/nom]No point, We Like Our Games To Load Fast!!![/citation]

Unless a game is constantly pulling information for the SSD/HDD, an SSD is not going to help with a number of games. You would have been better served to use a 128G SSD for System and those games that are constantly pulling from the drive and a regular HDD for those games that rarely pull information from the drive when playing.

 

[Achromatis]

Drop the SSD and get a better GPU.

 

[TheMadFapper]

Very boring, no offense. You need to spread out your price points.

$500
$1200
$1700
$1,048,576

 

[loops]

I like the build but that SSD is not the best place to spend the cash. I see SSD as add ons. Why the DVD drive? Can't we use a thumb drive by now? With that said, I'd love to see more sli/CF ideas like this one below:

1

NZXT Source 210 S210-002 White w/Black Front Trim “Aluminum Brush / Plastic” ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811146076
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy


$39.99
1

Western Digital WD Black WD5003AZEX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822236345
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$30.00 Instant


$99.99
$69.99
1

Rosewill RHTS-12006 Canal High Fidelity Passive Noise Isolating Rosewood Ear buds-Retails
Item #: N82E16826193077
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$10.50 Instant
-$9.49 Saving


$19.99
$0.00
2

HIS IceQ H787Q2G2M Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card
Item #: N82E16814161404
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card


$499.98
$479.98
($239.99 each)
2

AMD Gift coupon: Bioshock Inf. + Tomb Raider
Item #: N82E16800995146
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$149.99 Saving


$299.98
$0.00
($0.00 each)
1

SILVERSTONE Strider Essential series ST60F-ES 600W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC ...
Item #: N82E16817256071
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate


$74.99
$64.99
1

Kingston HyperX Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model KHX16C9B1BK2/8
Item #: N82E16820104387
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy


$42.99
1

ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813157293
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
-$10.00 Instant


$134.99
$124.99
1

Intel Core i5-3350P Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.3GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 69W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80637i53350P
Item #: N82E16819116782
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy


$179.99
Subtotal: $1,002.92

 

[hqarmstrong]

[citation][nom]ittimjones[/nom]1 system drive? I don't think so. That should be cut to a $100 SSD w/ a HDD and a better PSU, as I have a hard time thinking that a 500W PSU will be able to adequately power that system. That should still bring u under $1000...[/citation]

Either you didn't read the whole article or your brain damage has caused amnesia. If it's the latter, tough break then mate. He specifically addresses the power consumption...

"The presence of only one graphics card gives our current build a big advantage in power consumption. It also proves that we were wrong to assume we'd need more than a 380 W power supply. Our measurements apply to the complete build, including energy lost as heat within the PSU. The 400 W maximum input reflected for our tuned configuration corresponds to a 340 W output at 85% efficiency."

 

[shadowhammer]

[citation][nom]loops[/nom]I like the build but that SSD is not the best place to spend the cash. I see SSD as add ons. Why the DVD drive? Can't we use a thumb drive by now? With that said, I'd love to see more sli/CF ideas like this one below:1 NZXT Source 210 S210-002 White w/Black Front Trim “Aluminum Brush / Plastic” ATX Mid Tower Computer CaseItem #: N82E16811146076Return Policy: Standard Return Policy$39.991 Western Digital WD Black WD5003AZEX 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare DriveItem #: N82E16822236345Return Policy: Standard Return Policy-$30.00 Instant$99.99$69.991 Rosewill RHTS-12006 Canal High Fidelity Passive Noise Isolating Rosewood Ear buds-RetailsItem #: N82E16826193077Return Policy: Standard Return Policy-$10.50 Instant-$9.49 Saving$19.99$0.002 HIS IceQ H787Q2G2M Radeon HD 7870 GHz Edition 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video CardItem #: N82E16814161404Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy-$10.00 Instant$10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card$499.98$479.98($239.99 each)2 AMD Gift coupon: Bioshock Inf. + Tomb RaiderItem #: N82E16800995146Return Policy: Standard Return Policy-$149.99 Saving$299.98$0.00($0.00 each)1 SILVERSTONE Strider Essential series ST60F-ES 600W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC ...Item #: N82E16817256071Return Policy: Standard Return Policy-$10.00 Instant$10.00 Mail-in Rebate$74.99$64.991 Kingston HyperX Black Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model KHX16C9B1BK2/8Item #: N82E16820104387Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy$42.991 ASRock Z77 Extreme4 LGA 1155 Intel Z77 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel MotherboardItem #: N82E16813157293Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy-$10.00 Instant$134.99$124.991 Intel Core i5-3350P Ivy Bridge 3.1GHz (3.3GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 69W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80637i53350PItem #: N82E16819116782Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy$179.99Subtotal: $1,002.92[/citation]

It makes no sense to settle for an i5-3350P to get 2 Video Cards. You have to be careful pushing 2 powerful video cards with a chip you can't overclock. You end up bottlenecking the cards with a chip that can't help push all of that video.

 

[mapesdhs]

Thomas, just curious, how does the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus compare
to the tried-and-trusted Thermalright U120 Extreme? I ask because I bag
used TRUEs off eBay whenever I can for really low amounts; last one only
cost me 17 UKP total, and it came with a Noctua NF-P12 fan! Before that I
bought a lapped TRUE with a Sycthe SFF21F for just 16 UKP. The latter is
currently keeping an E8400 at a crazy low 32C under load (stock 3GHz atm).
Just pondering what a TRUE would have offered as regards oc potential, or
was the limit the mbd instead?

Whenever I read these build articles, I can't help wondering what may be
possible re used parts. would be a giggle to see an oc'd i3 550 included
in these tests (mine runs at 4.7).


ojas writes:
> 1) An article that compares GPU performance on a range of processors from
> Intel and AMD from the Core 2 era, by using a 680 first and then a 7970.

A typical Core2 wouldn't be able to feed something like a 680 fast
enough. I've been testing this with a range of CPUs/GPUs. Email me if you
want me to keep you informed of results (Google, "SGI Ian", find my
contact page). I have an E8400, Q6600 and QX9650, plus an older P4,
PentiumD, etc. Ditto a range of AMD CPUs up to a 965.


mayankleoboy1 writes:
> We should have core2Quads in cpu comparisons. Specially overclocked to
> 3-3.3 ghz.

See above.

Note that a lot of this info is already available on the net elsewhere.

Ian.

 

[cmi86]

240 GB Storage and that's it ? You guys knocked down the budgets in these builds but sacrifice them in the totally wrong way. I am honestly starting to feel that I could do better builds than all of you plus I might actually implement this thing called "Cable management" Ever heard of it ?

 

[rooseveltdon]

Not to state the obvious but wouldn't it have been better to simply get a regular HDD and buy a stronger video card?

 

[Fulgurant]

Just goes to show that a $200 margin becomes less and less quantitatively significant as the budgets rise.

The $1,000 price point is too low to go whole hog, but it's also too high to skimp on quality-of-life benefits. Criticize Mr. Soderstrom all you want, but for what it's worth, I'd be hard-pressed to make any significant improvements on his build. That is, if I were buying it for myself. It's 2013; if I'm gonna spend $1,000 on a desktop computer, it better damn well have an SSD.

And that summarizes the dilemma with these System Builder Marathons: the higher-end entries are always pulled in two separate directions, the desire to win the benchmark shootout warring with the compulsion to present a realistic hardware configuration. Personally, I think it's an acceptable dilemma; Tom's SBMs are more interesting to me than the average build-your-own guide precisely because they're partially framed as a competition.

 

[Crashman]

[citation][nom]rooseveltdon[/nom]Not to state the obvious but wouldn't it have been better to simply get a regular HDD and buy a stronger video card?[/citation]For the $80 difference? I doubt the $80 difference would get me much farther with graphics.

Please allow me to clarify: I see suggestions such as "save the $200 on SSD and spend it on graphics" when the SSD costs less than $180. And, if I removed it, a high-end HDD would cost $100. $180-$100=$80, unless we're doing government math. I'm sure a public official could explain to us how $180-$100=$200, using cost-down measures over the term of ten years

 

[natefostersr]

gtx 670

 

[levin70]

Amd FX 6300 plus Gigabyte GA-970A-UD3 $170 at microcenter
CM Hyper 212 Plus heatsink $26 at newegg
Corsair carbide 500R case on sale $20 off for $100 at newegg
Rosewill Hive 650W psu on sale 15% off for $68 at newegg
Gskill Ripjaw X 8gig ddr3 1600 1.5v memory - cas 7 for $70 at newegg
Gskill Phoenix III 240gig SSD for $190 at newegg
Samsung DVD burner $16 at newegg
XFX Double D HD7970 GPU $370 at newegg after $30 MIR

System total $1,010 - I think a much better gaming value as the 7970 vs the cut down 7950 in the Tahiti LE will drive better performance in games than an intel cpu will vs an amd cpu. In addition, my cpu choice has allowed this build to spend big on better internals. Case, PSU, memory are all significantly better than the system builder and all for only $30 more.

 

[mapesdhs]

[citation][nom]natefostersr[/nom]gtx 670[/citation]

Given Crashman's $80 comment, which GTX 670 can you get that's only $320? Cheapest
on Newegg is $360.

OTOH, $320 is enough for a couple of lesser cards in SLI/CF, especially 2nd-hand.
I just upgraded my gaming PC with two used 900MHz GTX 560 Ti cards, giving P9006
for 3DMark11 (better than a GTX 670), and P9604 when oc'd (beats a GTX 680). Both
have Gelid IcyVision coolers (worth 33 UKP each), so load temps are very good and
noise levels are excellent. Total cost: 178 UKP ($285). By contrast, the cheapest
decent GTX 670 here is 300 UKP (EVGA FTW).

Ian.

 

[lt_dan_zsu]

How much better will this thing even perform over the $800 one?

 

[K2N hater]

That's a real ugly fridge. If the point is to get spartan mounting the hardware on a cardboard is the cheapest way to go.

 

[mayankleoboy1]

I wonder if going SLI/CF is a good option here.

 

[Guest]

I think I'd rather see their picks with the $2000 budget, or even $1500

 

[SebDays]

I feel confident I built a better PC at a lower price tag.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qD6x

 

[SebDays]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qD6x
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qD6x/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/qD6x/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($189.99 @ Microcenter)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LP 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 60GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 60GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($74.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: VisionTek Radeon HD 7850 2GB Video Card ($195.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($52.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Cooler Master Elite Power 460W ATX12V Power Supply ($36.98 @ Outlet PC)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ Outlet PC)
Total: $860.89
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-03-01 02:11 EST-0500)

 

[cmi86]

Seriously, give me $1000.00 and I will make you *** your knickers. Same CPU, same GPU, SSD plus 1TB storage and when you pop the case you might actually be impressed as opposed to wondering which 7th graded slapped that rig together in 45 minutes. I dont mean to be dis respectful but honestly with the budget and means you guys have honestly 80% of your SBM builds seriously disappoint me.

 

[ChairmanSaab]

If i went to buy this configurations, i will be paying close to $1400 for same thing ! India sucks!

 

[summersideguy]

How about the following setup:
Case Cougar Volant $42 - Direct Canada - Usb 3.0 Hot Swap Dock, All black tooless
CPU I5 3470 $185 - Not interested in overclocking, at these speeds GPU is where its at for gaming
HD 7770 Crossfire $230 - Dirt Cheap and two in crossfire are equivalent in most cases to a 7950
BIOSTAR TZ77XE4 $141 - Comes with 3 PCI-E, on board power,reset. and at time of writing this free 8GM stick of Cosair Vengence Memory
Corsair Vengence $49 - 8GB Stick - DDR3 1600 bringing system memory to 16GB
Hydro H60 new version $60 - Direct Canada, for this price why not
Samsung 840 240GB $170 - Newegg Free shipping boot drive
Seagate Barracuda 1TB $70 - Free shipping Direct Canada 64MB Cache - storage
Optical Drive LG GH24NS95 24X DVD writer - $14
PSU - Apevia 700W
-------------------------------
All in $939Cdn, before tax's and most items are free shipping.
I get the performance of an SSD and the convenience of 1TB of storage. Graphics performance should be in par if not surpassing the 7870. Double the ram and an awesome cooler.
This is most likely what I would setup if I was restricted to a $1000 budget.
Things I would stick with regardless of budget just to keep costs under control are the dual 7770's and
the motherboard with the free memory combo.